Australia's Mining Boom Covers Troubles Elsewhere

SYDNEY—Australia's economy, driven by a booming mining sector, is among the fastest-growing in the developed world. It has the enviable combination of low unemployment and little debt.

Yet its central bank has cut interest rates. The reason: Nearly every part of the economy outside mining is struggling, and there is fear among some small businesses and economists that if China stops gobbling up its coal and iron ore, the remainder of...